


Overtime

by theotheralissa



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-19 23:23:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2406671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theotheralissa/pseuds/theotheralissa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nino thinks it’s just going to be another day at the office...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Overtime

**Author's Note:**

> Office AU. Written for Kitto Slutparty 2014!

“Hello,” the guy says, bowing in front of the office full of his new coworkers. “My name is Watanabe Minoru. I look forward to working with all of you.” 

“Hi,” Nino says, under his breath from the back of the room. “I’m going out with you tonight.” 

“I heard that,” Aiba whispers, elbowing Nino in the side as he does so. 

The rest of the employees give a round of applause warmly welcoming the new member. From where Nino is standing it’s a sea of dark uniforms - navy, grey, brown. The new guy is wearing brown, an interesting choice for the first day. 

Aiba raises an eyebrow at him when the elbow proves ineffective. 

“Do you want to make a bet on it?” Nino asks, turning to meet Aiba’s eyes. 

Aiba shrugs. Nino knows he’s not really a betting man. But Nino also knows that Aiba is too nice to turn him down. 

Nino extends his hand. 

Aiba shakes it. 

With vague terms like these it doesn’t really matter. But another bet that Nino has made in his head is that Minoru is going to be sitting next to him and surely enough when he goes back to his desk a senior employee is leading Minoru to the empty desk next to his. 

“Hey,” Nino says when Minoru sits down. He’s been given an employee packet and some kind of explanation, but this is a sink or swim type company. Nino was thrown into the water in much the same way. 

“H-hi,” Minoru says, awkwardly smoothing his hands on his slacks. “I’m Watanabe nicetomeetyou.” 

“Hey hey slow down,” Nino says, a grin tugging at the edge of his lips. “I’m Nino.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Minoru says, more clearly this time. 

“Can I call you Minoru?” Nino asks. 

“S-sure,” Minoru says. 

“Relax,” Nino says, tossing a book over to Minoru’s desk. It lands just next to his keyboard. 

“Data entry,” Nino says. 

“I thought I was supposed to do sales...” 

“But it’s your first day,” Nino says, glancing at the clock. It‘s ten already. “So data entry.” 

“O-ok.”

“I said relax yeah?” 

Minoru nods and opens up the file. He gets to work naturally and with a speed that lets Nino knows he definitely _will_ make it around here. Unlike the poor bastard who was sitting here before. 

He’s tall, brown hair that curls back just slightly behind his ears. He wears glasses, thin wire frames, and when he sits in front of his computer he stretches his long legs out in front of him in a way that makes him look like he’s not taking anything seriously at all. Not in a lazy way, in a relaxing way. Funny that he seems so nervous then. Nino gets the feeling he’s probably one of the most laidback people in this office. 

“Girlfriend?” Nino asks, not looking up from his computer. 

“No,” Minoru says, also not looking up. 

“Boyfriend?” Nino asks, his voice a little quieter this time. 

Minoru looks side to side, a little helplessly. He swallows. 

“Broke up?” Nino asks. 

Minoru nods, goes right back to his work, fingers flying across the keyboard. 

\---

There is a guy named Ohno who works in the shipping department. 

Nino has liked him for exactly 624 days. Almost two years since he started working at the company and met him for the first time. He works out on the docks, loading and unloading packages. It’s probably a cliche. Aiba teases him about it constantly. But Nino doesn’t care that much. Whenever he gets a chance, he’ll enjoy the view. 

Once a day, Ohno comes to use the copy machine in the office to print out his daily report. He comes around 3 pm, so every day around 3 pm Nino finds something to copy. Whether it’s his sales report, his schedule, a funny picture of a cat someone sent to the office email... 

It’s still only 11 am now. Four hours, he thinks. 

\---

Aiba keeps a close eye on the situation. It’s been 600something days since Nino started working at this company (he knows because Nino never fails to remind him) and he’s known for 600something days that Nino has a thing for Ohno, the guy in shipping. Can’t blame him. It’s not that Aiba’s particularly attracted to him, but he and Nino are a perfect fit. Both about the same height and size, both have the same weird sense of humor... 

There aren’t a lot of times when Aiba’s seen the two of them outside of work, but at the office parties there are times when Aiba swears there’s a joke that only the two of them can understand. It’s cute. And he’s always figured maybe it would happen for them. But now Nino’s interested - very interested - in this Minoru guy and Aiba wonders if it’s not worth giving him one last shove in Ohno’s direction before it’s too late. 

\---

It’s 12 o’clock when Minoru finally takes a break from what he’s doing. Nino’s been watching him out of the corner of his eye so he knows he’s been working nonstop since about nine when he first tossed the data entry binder at him. 

“Go get some lunch,” Nino says. 

Minoru raises an eyebrow at him. “Are you my boss?” he asks. 

“No,” Nino says, grinning a little. “I could be if you wanted me to. But no I’m not.” 

“So you can tell me when to take lunch?” Minoru says, grinning back at Nino. 

Nino gets a little thrill deep in his stomach. It’s the first time he’s gotten that kind of thrill since he met Ohno. It’s probably better this way right? No use pursuing something out of his reach. He’s only known Minoru a few hours but it’s easy to get a feel for these things sometimes... 

“That guy won’t care,” Nino says, waving a hand over at Sakurai, the section manager. When he looks over Sakurai is peering at them through the glass. Nino gives a small salute and Sakurai rolls his eyes. 

Minoru tenses up a little, but it might just be the kind of jitters that come with starting a new job. 

“Alright if you say so,” Minoru says. 

“Want to come with me?” Nino asks. 

He looks over to the right and Aiba’s passing by clumsily, the opposite of nonchalant, even though Nino can tell that’s exactly what he’s trying to be. 

“What do you think of that Aiba-chan?” Nino says, loudly. 

Aiba shrugs and keeps walking, but Nino sees him looking back at least six times. 

\---

Lunch turns into a stolen kiss in the empty break room. It’s mainly innocent and may or may not mean anything, but Nino’s impressed at the ability he had to sense it. 

“Lunch,” Nino says a little breathlessly, pulling back. 

“Back to work,” Minoru says, equally breathless. 

\---

When Nino comes back to his desk, Aiba is sitting there, stretched out in his chair. 

“Well well well,” he says. 

“Cut it,” Nino says, curtly. He doesn’t really mean it, but Aiba is being smug about... something and Nino doesn’t like it when he doesn’t know what it’s all about. 

Minoru is talking to the boss so Nino knows whatever Aiba has to say needs to be quick. 

“You should tell Ohno you like him.” 

Nino snaps. “No.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because that’s stupid.”

“How do you know it’s stupid unless you try?” 

“What do you even care?” 

The phone at Nino’s desk rings. 

“Yeah?” he says, glaring at Aiba as he answers. 

“Come to my office please,” Sakurai says, gruffly. 

\---

Minoru is leaving out the side door when Nino comes in the front. 

“What’s up boss?” Nino says, watching Minoru walk out. Not a bad angle at all, he thinks. 

“Are you bothering the new guy?” Sakurai asks. 

“Who me?” Nino says, innocently. “You know I would never...” 

Sakurai rolls his eyes. 

They’ve actually known each other longer than Nino has been working here. They went to the same high school and while they weren’t really friends back then they did move in some of the same circles. Aiba was there too and how they all ended up at the same place now is something Nino jokes is a horrible twist of fate while Aiba says it’s a happy kind of destiny. 

They know he cares. They’ve known him too long to not know. Nino gives Aiba another glare through glass where he’s still there sitting in Nino’s seat. Then a wink. 

“I was thinking of asking him out,” Nino says in a low voice. 

“Don’t tell me about these things.” 

“Or I could ask you out,” Nino says, brushing his hand against Sakurai’s just under where the glass ends and their hands aren’t visible. 

Sakurai turns a lovely shade of red. 

“You’re never going to give that one up are you,” Sakurai says. 

“Not until you say yes~” 

“Which is never actually going to happen,” Sakurai says, but he doesn’t move his hand. 

Nino suspects if it weren’t for the office politics of it all, he could have already gotten somewhere with Sakurai. 

But really he’s doing this for Aiba’s benefit. He knows Sakurai will turn him down, that doesn’t matter. He doesn’t need to tell Ohno he likes him. Why would he do that? The difference between being turned down by Sakurai and being turned down by Ohno is about the width of an ocean. 

He gives Aiba another wink before Sakurai shoves him out the door. 

\---

It’s two o’clock. 

Nino taps his pencil frantically against the desk. He’s never felt so nervous about meeting Ohno at the copy machine. He blames Aiba entirely for getting into his head. Maybe he should just skip the copy machine today and go straight for Sakurai’s office. The guy is always turning him down, but Nino’s never really asked him out seriously before and that blush he always gets when Nino flirts with him is telling... 

Or he could pull Minoru back into the break room. It worked the last time and he seems like he’d be game to go for it again. Nino does intend on taking him out tonight so nothing wrong with getting a little preview. 

But as the clock approaches three, Nino feels his heart traveling up into his throat. 

“Just tell him you like him,” Aiba’s voice echoes in Nino’s head.

“No,” Nino says out loud, then waves away the guy in the next cubicle when he looks over at Nino, confused. 

\---

Usually when it turns three o’clock Nino goes to the copy machine armed with some kind of report or paper or something masquerading as work, but today he doesn’t even bother. 

Ohno comes around the corner like he always does, this time Matsumoto, his boss, is on his heels. That makes it a little more awkward, but it also makes it so it’s a little less likely that Nino is going to say or do something really stupid. 

“Hey,” he says when Ohno arrives at the copy machine. Nino runs a sheet of blank paper through and waits for a blank sheet to come out. 

“We’re all backed up out there today so can you let him cut in line?” Matsumoto asks and Nino bows politely, a little too deeply so that maybe Matsumoto will think it’s funny. It’s hard to tell if he does or not. 

“Go ahead,” Nino says, taking out his blank sheet and nearly sighing in relief when Matsumoto goes walking the other way. 

“Hey,” Nino says again. 

“Hey,” Ohno replies. 

“How long have you been working here?” Nino asks. 

“Hmm,” Ohno says. “Four years maybe?” 

“I’ve been here about two,” Nino says. He doesn’t add _and I’ve pretty much wanted to kiss you that entire time_. 

“Do you like it?” Ohno asks. 

“It’s okay I guess,” Nino says. He looks over at the office where Sakurai is sitting. Looks over at Minoru and past him to Aiba. Even that Matsumoto has his own certain kind of charm. 

“I like it,” Ohno says. 

“I like you,” Nino says. Then curses. 

Ohno blinks. 

“I like your shoes,” Nino says. 

Ohno blinks some more. 

“Fuck.” 

\---

When Nino kisses Ohno it’s like no other kiss he’s felt before. It’s awkward, even more than that ill advised first kiss when he was thirteen. He wants to put his hands everywhere and is scared to put them anywhere at the same time. There is no rhythm to it, no perfect fit. Nino has imagined it so many times and in truth it’s nothing like he thought it would be. 

_Tell him_ , Aiba had said. 

So he did and he thought it would get him nowhere but Ohno just shrugged in that way he does and said it was okay if Nino wanted to try it. 

_It’s now or never_ , Aiba had said. He has this way of getting Nino to do the things that he needs to do. 

Nino slips his leg between Ohno’s thighs. It’s not really a gesture of trying to do anything more, but looking for a rhythm, a way to fit together. If they can’t find that then what is Nino going to do? Move, he thinks. To Okinawa or Australia or maybe the moon. 

Ohno pulls back just a little and Nino takes the opportunity to wrap his arms around, pull him tight. He presses their lips together, opening just slightly and his heart is beating so fast he wonders if Ohno can feel it too. 

A response. He feels Ohno’s arm curling around his back and he shifts his hips so that Nino can settle comfortably against him. It’s not flirty like it is with Sakurai. It’s not raw attraction like with Minoru. It feels like everything is at stake. When Ohno’s arm curls around, Nino finally relaxes, sinking lazily against Ohno’s body then pulling all the way back again. 

“I liked you for a really long time,” Nino says. 

“Did you really?” Ohno says, the slightest hint of a grin playing on the side of his lips.

“You don’t have to get all smug.” 

Ohno grins even more and Nino hits his shoulder. 

\---

“You’re going to thank me,” Aiba says on the phone. He calls Nino’s desk just around closing time. 

“Yeah yeah god of matchmaking or whatever you want me to call you,” Nino says. 

“Not for that,” Aiba says. 

Nino sighs. 

“Minoru knows this office more than he let on.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Remember when you asked him about a boyfriend?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Look to your left,” Aiba says. 

To the left is the window where Nino can see through to Sakurai’s office. Minoru is in there again, where he’s been most of the day. Nino didn’t think too much of it, but now that he realizes it is kind of strange for a new guy to spend the whole day in there with the boss... 

“...Oh.” 

He knows that from a certain angle no one can see what’s going on below the window. Minoru’s probably touching Sakurai’s hand the way Nino sometimes does. But this time Minoru isn’t getting shoved out the door the way Nino always does. 

“You going out with Ohno tonight?” Aiba asks. 

“We have a date tomorrow,” Nino says. 

Aiba smiles so big he looks like he might hurt himself. 

“Tomorrow at the copy machine,” Nino says. “3 o’clock.” 

He doesn’t add _and after work_. Because he’s pretty sure Aiba can figure that one out.


End file.
